Sabiá take their name after the national bird of Brazil, the Sabiá-laranjeira. Fittingly, 'Sabiá' is also a composition by the group's biggest influence, Antonio Carlos Jobim.
Formed of established British jazz musicians, they perform Bossa Nova, traditional Brazilian improvised music and original compositions. They specialise, not unsurprisingly, in arrangements of Jobim's compositions. The band features Rowan Flack on vocals, Bim Williams on guitar, Marcus Penrose on double bass and Chris Nickolls on percussion.
Sabiá is led by violinist, composer and producer Tobie Medland. Tobie is credited as one of the foremost British improvising violinists and has released several records with his genre-defying originals project 'The Aviary', which had their last album release at Vortex Jazz Club. He has performed concerts with some of the worlds greatest musicians within the jazz style pioneered by the great Django Reinhardt, including Stochelo Rosenberg, Fapy Lafertin, Olli Soikkeli and Paulus Schäfer. Tobie has also featured at leading European venues including LSO St. Luke's, Crazy Coq's Soho, Pizza Express The Pheasantry, Leeds Town Hall, Jazzbina Sarajevo and Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club.
Antonio Carlos Jobim, the father of Bossa Nova, is widely considered Brazil’s greatest composer. His expansive body of work and innovative approach led him to record with and write music for jazz greats including Stan Getz (Getz/Gilberto, an album dedicated to Jobim’s music), Frank Sinatra, and Charlie Byrd. He also released a vast number of recordings which highlighted his globally revered compositions. Some of his most well-known compositions include ‘The Girl From Ipanema’, ‘One Note Samba’ and ‘Desafinado’.